Waveform selection by touch

• US 4,766,425 A
• Filed: 12/19/1986
• Issued: 08/23/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tektronix Incorporated (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Tektronix Incorporated (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Kramlich, Beverlea J., Tallman, James L., Sherbeck, Terry G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, Sr., John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): OBERLEY, ALVIN E
• Application Number:
  US06/944,304
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 340/712, 340/711, 340/721, 340/724, 340/365 P, 250/221, 250/549, 324/121 R
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041

Abstract

For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen and capable of performing operations with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, a method and apparatus for permitting an operator to select a waveform. A touchscreen mechanism provides input signals to the oscilloscope indicating when and where an operator touches the surface of the screen and a microcomputer within the oscilloscope determines from data controlling the display of each waveform and from the data provided by the touchscreen whether the operator is touching any portion of a displayed waveform. If so, the microcomputer assumes that the operator has selected the waveform touched and reconfigures oscilloscope operation such that operations are performed with respect to the waveform touched by the operator.

Claims

1. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen, each waveform formed by pixels on said screen, said oscilloscope being further capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, a method for selecting said one waveform comprising the steps of:

storing in memory means waveform data indicating a position on said screen of each pixel forming each of said plurality of waveforms;

determining when an object is proximate said screen;

determining a particular area of said screen nearest said object from among a plurality of screen areas;

reading said waveform data stored in said memory means;

determining from the waveform data read positions on said screen of pixels forming said waveforms;

determining from said waveform data stored in said memory means whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object by comparing determined positions on said screen of pixels forming said any one waveform to positions on said screen included in said particular area; and

selecting said any one waveform passing through said particular area of said screen nearest said object.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of determining from said waveform data stored in said memory means whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object comprises the substep of determining from said waveform data whether any pixel of any of said plurality of waveforms is positioned within said particular area of said screen.

3. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen, each waveform comprising a separate line of pixels, a vertical position of each pixel on said screen being determined according to a magnitude of corresponding waveform data stored in memory means, said oscilloscope being further capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, a method for selecting said one waveform comprising the steps of:

determining when an object is proximate said screen;

determining a particular area of said screen nearest said object from among a plurality of screen areas;

determining from said waveform data stored in said memory means whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object; and

selecting said any one waveform passing through said particular area of said screen nearest said object,

wherein the step of determining from said waveform data stored in said memory means whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object comprises the substeps of;

determining from said waveform data whether any pixel of any of said plurality of waveforms is positioned within said particular area of said screen, and

determining from said waveform data corresponding to each pixel whether any two horizontally consecutive pixels of a line of pixels comprising any one of said plurality of waveforms are vertically and horizontally positioned on said screen such that one of said two pixels is above said particular area of said screen while the other of said two pixels is below said particular area of said screen.

4. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen and capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, a method for selecting a waveform, the method comprising the steps of:

determining when an object is proximate to said screen;

determining a particular area of said screen nearest said object from among a plurality of separate screen areas;

determining which of said waveforms was last selected;

selecting another of said waveforms other than the last selected waveform when said particular area of said screen contains a portion of said another waveform; and

selecting said last selected waveform when said particular area of said screen does not contain a portion of any other of said waveforms.

5. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen in accordance with stored data produced by digitizing input signals and capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, an apparatus for selecting said one waveform comprising:

memory means for storing waveform data indicating a position on said screen of each pixel forming each of said plurality of waveforms;

means providing signals indicating when an object is proximate said screen and indicating a particular area of said screen nearest said object with respect to a plurality of separate screen areas; and

means responsive to said signals for reading said waveform data stored in said memory means, for determining from the waveform data read positions on said screen of individual pixels forming said waveforms, for determining whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object by comparing determined positions on said screen of individual pixels to positions on said screen included in said particular area, and for selecting said one waveform when said stored data indicates that said particular area of said screen contains any portion of said one waveform.

6. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen in accordance with stored waveform data and capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, an apparatus for selecting said one waveform comprising:

memory means for storing waveform data indicating a position on said screen of each pixel forming each of said plurality of waveforms;

first means for directing a plurality of light beams across and proximate said screen, for determining whether each beam strikes an object proximate the screen, and for producing signals indicating which of said plurality of light beams strike an object proximate said screen; and

second means for determining from said signals a particular area of said screen nearest said object from among a plurality of separate screen areas, for determining from said waveform data whether any portion of said one waveform is contained in said particular area by determining from the waveform data stored in said memory means positions on said screen of individual pixels forming said waveforms and by comparing determined positions of said individual pixels to positions included in said particular area, and for selecting said one waveform when said particular area of said screen contains any portion of said one waveform.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said first means comprises:

means for directing a first group of said plurality of light beams across and proximate to said screen, said first group of light beams being parallel to one another;

means for directing a second group of said light beams across and proximate to said screen, said second group of light beams being parallel to one another and perpendicular to each of said first group of light beams such that said first and second groups of light beams form a rectangular grid of light beams; and

means corresponding to said each of said light beams for producing a signal of state indicating whether the corresponding light beam strikes said object.

8. For an oscilloscope capable of simultaneously displaying a plurality of waveforms on a screen, each waveform comprising a separate line of pixels, the vertical position of each pixel on said screen being determined according to the magnitude of corresponding waveform data stored in memory means, said oscilloscope being further capable of performing at least one operation with respect to a selected one of the displayed waveforms, an apparatus for selecting said one waveform comprising:

memory means for storing waveform data indicating a position on said screen of each pixel forming each of said plurality of waveforms;

first means for generating position data indicating when an object is proximate to said screen and indicating a particular area of said screen nearest to said object from among a plurality of separate screen areas; and

second means for determining from said position data and from said waveform data stored in said memory means whether any one waveform of said plurality of waveforms passes through said particular area of said screen nearest to said object by determining from the waveform data positions on said screen of individual pixels forming said waveforms and comparing determined positions of said individual pixels to positions included in said particular area.